Just as there was a most significant musical epoch from about 1590 to 1620, so we find the °classical period,'" from about 1775 to 1825 to present not only a marvelous amount of crea tive energy, but a change in the musical taste of the world, a transformation of the scope and style of music. Only the opera went on ''s uninterrupted path. Yet here, too, there were some changes.
Beethoven (1770-1827) was an instrumental, an orchestral composer, par excellence. His one opera, 'Fidelio,' great art-work though it was, exerted no special influence upon any school of composition. Mozart (1756-91) im proved the style of the Italians in opera, but did not actually strike out a new path. His Won Giovanni,' for a long time the master piece of the world in the operatic form, was but a culmination of what Italy had already at tempted. Rossini (1792-1868) with a per nicious habit of creating the most beautiful melodies whether they fitted the text or not, set back the hands of the clock of musical progress, as far as opera was concerned, for a good half-century.
The first ringing note of the newer and truer school of dramatic opera was heard when Von Weber (1786-1826) in 1820 completed his (Freischiitz,) an opera built upon the sure foundation of the folk-song, a dramatic work, thoroughly wedding its poetry and music.
The sacred forms, during the classical epoch, did not change materially. Beethoven wrote a most intricate mass, but it was only an echo of Bach with his great polyphonic B minor mass. Mozart composed, almost upon his death-bed, a noble requiem, but it was only an addition of operatic flavor to the requiems that had pre ceded. Cherubini (1760-1842) wrote a couple of requiems that were as great as any of the school — but were not in any sense innovations.
Piano and orchestral works advanced the most in the classical half-century. The 'vastest piano-work existing to-day is probably Beetho ven's B flat sonata, Op. 106.
The orchestra, in the modern sense, had its birth in the classical half-century. Bach and Handel made only outline sketches of their orchestral works, leaving much for modern com mentators to fill in. But when Haydn came to England, in 1791, he directed a complete orches tra and he published complete orchestral scores, an epoch in the history of orchestral develop ment. Mozart had, however, before this time, written a large number of symphonies in com plete score, many of which were published at a later period. Although the modern orchestra and the full score had their origin in this re markable epoch, the art of conducting came later. Mendelssohn and Berlioz may be named
as the first really great conductors in the mod ern definition of the word. The use of the baton in conducting only became established after 1800.
One other important evolution must be added to the work of the 50 years which form such a golden epoch of musical creation. The songs of Europe, such as had any real worth, were almost altogether folk-songs, melodies which grew up as the briar rose by the way side of art, not the careful product of great composers, but the spontaneous voice of the people. The songs of the composers were gen erally dull and artificial things, made so, per haps, by the fact that the poets were not con cerning themselves with short and lyrical forms. But when Goethe and Heine, in Germany, be gan writing beautiful lyrical poems, the song composer was sure to follow soon. Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was the genius who evolved the (Lied,) the artistic song which, however short, was yet a complete and perfect whole; as a tiny Meissonier painting is as per fect in its way as the largest canvas. Schubert added glorious works to the symphonic reper toire, his piano-works practically founded the °Minuet-form,'" yet he thought vocally, and his most spontaneous and most important works we consider to be his 'Lieder,> which songs began a new school.
We may now follow the three distinct mu sical paths,— vocal forms (including opera), piano music and orchestral music,— each by it self, to the present time. Continuing the song development, we find Schumann (1810-56), and Robert Franz (1815-92) following in the foot steps of Schubert and bringing the miniature vocal form to perfection. The operatic form took a wide deviation.
The work of Rossini was baleful only in the fact that it paid no heed to the wedding of words and music in dramatic unity. In light operas Rossini was a model, and his (Barber of Seville' is a masterpiece. Once, and once only, he proved that he could write a truly dramatic opera, and produced Tell.' Donizetn (1797-1848), Bellini (1802-35), and others, fol lowed his lead and wrote charmingly, but un truthfully. France compromised and united prettiness and some degree of dramatic feeling in the works of Gounod (1818-93) and of Ambroise Thomas (1811-96). The real reform, however, of this misalliance of poetry and music was made by Richard Wagner (1813 83).